Once again I found myself thoroughly enjoying Modern Family when I was watching this episode. I have to say that I personally think that the show has been on a roll with making really good episodes in terms of not just the first five episodes, but all of the episodes that have aired so far this season. Most shows such as Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, and Gossip Girl had all really declined in terms of quality by their third season. Sure, I would say that each of those shows had a certain amount of resurgence from a creative standpoint over the years, but I don’t think it ever truly stuck with those shows. Each of them had at least one good season where the show bounces back with a good season after its first couple of seasons had passed and its quality had declined, but they were usually followed by a disappointing season. Modern Family may have the occasional weak episode, but I personally think that the writers have done a great job of maintaining the same high level of quality that the first season had with the second season and all of the season three episodes that have aired so far.
One of the things that I liked the most about this episode is that each member of the cast had at least one moment to really shine and standout in this episode, especially Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara and Nolan Gould. The other thing that I loved the most about this episode is how they connected Mitchell and Cameron’s storyline with them being involved in a hit and run and the two of them disagreeing with how them should have handled it with Hailey needing nine hundred dollars to pay for a fake I.D. at the end of the episode.
I really like that the writers started giving Nolan Gould more material last season, because I think he’s a very talented actor, especially for a child actor. I also like how the writers have given Luke his own running gag of having an issue with the police. It was great seeing that be featured once again in this episode, and I’m glad that the writers have carried that joke over into season three instead of having it be a joke that they just had in the season two episode “Slow Down Your Neighbors”. To this day, I still can’t decide if I want the writers to explain the origins of Luke not liking the police at some point or just have them keep mentioning it, but have the reason why Luke hates the police remain a mystery for the entire series.
My favorite storyline of the episode was definitely Claire struggling with trying to decide whether or not she should run for town councilman in the next election while Phil tries unsuccessfully to prove to Claire that he can handle taking care of Hailey, Alex and Luke if she wins. First off, I have to say that I thought that Dwayne Bailey was a complete and total jerk, and I seriously don’t understand why he would have any objections to putting in a stop sign at the intersection that Claire think needs a stop sign if it will make that intersection safer.
Two of my favorite scenes from this episode were scenes that focused on that storyline. My favorite scene of the episode was definitely the scene where Phil is trying to open a Band-Aid for Luke who cut his arm, only to accidentally hit Luke in face and also gives Alex the nighttime allergy medicine without realizing it. I love how Phil, Luke and Alex ended up freaking out at the end of that scene. That was priceless. Phil’s desperate attempts to keep Claire from finding out that he accidentally hit Luke in the face and gave Alex the nighttime allergy medicine without realizing it later in the episode made the whole thing even better. My other favorite scene of the episode involving that storyline was definitely the scene where Claire and Gloria were drinking wine and Gloria tells her the story about a girl with a huge nose who was afraid to enter a beauty pageant, but entered the pageant anyway, came in last, and then was hit by a bus two weeks later because she couldn’t see it coming due to her big nose. That story was so sad, yet downright hilarious all at the same time, and I thought that Claire’s reaction to the story was hilarious.
The thing that disappointed me the most about that storyline is the fact that the writers have basically dropped this storyline after this episode. I was really hoping that it would be a season-long storyline for Claire and not just a storyline that only lasts for two episodes and isn’t mentioned again at all. Although, they did first mention Claire wanting another stop sign in their neighborhood last season in the episode “Slow Down Your Neighbors”, so I guess this storyline did in a way last beyond just the previous episode “Door to Door” and this episode. I personally would like the writers to mention this storyline again in the future.
This proved to be a surprisingly big episode due to the fact that the writers finally revealed what Jay’s business involves. He apparently builds and designs closets. One thing that I thought was cool about the reveal is that it, I wasn’t expecting them to reveal what kind of business his is in the episode. Given the fact that it’s the show’s third season, I was starting to think the writers were either going to wait until the series finale to reveal what kind of business has or have it be a running joke that we wouldn’t ever find out what it was. I was starting to think the writers were going to just leave it at “He has big business.” like Gloria said in the series premiere.
As for Jay’s storyline itself, I really liked it, and I thought it seemed very realistic. You hear about older people struggling to keep up with the changing times and staying relevant, especially in the business world all the time. Jay had apparently known the guy who’s the president of the company who was interested in having him design some closets for them since he was a kid and his dad was running the company. When the guy was a kid, Jay apparently used to call him “Joshy”. I don’t blame Jay for not really liking Josh as the president of the company. He didn’t seem very professional or like he knew very much about how to run a business. He came across as a major party boy and a complete idiot to me. If I had to guess, Josh only became the president of the company because it’s a family business and his father chose him to be his successor as the president of the company.
I also loved Gloria storyline in this episode and the whole thing with her being upset about Jay and Manny not listening to her and taking her seriously. Gloria had a lot of really funny lines, and I thought that Sofia Vergara was great in this episode. I have a few more things to say about Gloria’s storyline, which I will get back to later.
I have to say that I found Manny kind of annoying in this episode. I get that he’s supposed to be a kid that’s wise beyond his years and a kid with an old soul, but sometimes I feel like those particular aspects of Manny as a character make him come across as a snob at times, and this episode was definitely one of those times. While I did find his line about rolling backpacks mildly amusing, I also felt like it made him seem rather arrogant for the most part. I use a rolling laptop carrying case because I find it to be very efficient when it comes to carrying my computer and things for my classes when I’m on campus and I have to get to my classes. Plus, I’ve found that I can move a lot faster with a carrying case like that. I did find the conversation between Gloria and Jay about what the “Bieberization of America” means pretty funny though. I thought Manny came across as thinking that he was better than them simply because he knows who Justin Bieber is, which annoyed me.
Side note: I absolutely despise Justin Bieber. Just listening to one of his songs makes me want to vomit. I can’t wait for him to fade into obscurity never to be heard from again. Although, I’m sure he’ll end up making a sex tape and go on Dancing With The Stars at some point in a desperate attempt to rejuvenate his dying music career. I’m sure he’ll also become a drug addict and appear on Celebrity Rehab before he manages to get his life back together and go on living his life, which God willing will be entirely out of the Hollywood spotlight nobody has to hear anything about him, but I digress.
I found Mitchell and Cameron’s storyline with them disagreeing about how they should have handled the hit and run car accident that they were in extremely funny. I also loved the opening scene with them in a movie theater getting ready to see a horror movie and Cameron flips out at this guy for bringing his daughter to a horror movie, only to find out that he and Mitchell were in the wrong theater. That was hilarious, especially later when Lily got upset when she overheard Cameron and Mitchell talking about how they had accidently gone into the theater for the new Muppet movie. I also loved the part where Cameron was trying to chase after the guy who had hit their car as he was driving away and was screaming that the guy was getting away. Cameron screaming about the guy driving off and getting away instantly reminded me of the season one episode “Run for Your Wife” when Cameron was running around, screaming, and he wanted to break the car door window with a trashcan after he and Mitchell accidently locked Lily in the car with their car keys in Lily’s diaper bag. That is still definitely one of my all-time favorite Cameron moments.
In the end, Claire decided to not run for town council after she found out that Hailey had tried to buy a fake I.D. and that Phil had accidentally given Luke a black eye and had also given Alex the nighttime allergy medicine, but Gloria convinced her to run anyway. However, like I said earlier the writers seem to have dropped this storyline. Jay, Cameron, Phil, and a very reluctant Mitchell confronted the guy that Hailey had tried to buy a fake I.D. from, and he tried to get away, but Mitchell was surprisingly the one to catch the guy and they got Hailey’s money back. Hailey thought that she was going to get away with trying to buy a fake I.D., but Phil told her that she was grounded for two weeks.
I have to say that I was surprised that Phil was the one who grounded Hailey, especially after they showed last season in the episode “Good Cop Bad Dog” that Phil isn’t very good at disciplining the kids without going absolutely nuts in the process. Also, I don’t know why, especially since it wasn’t all that long ago that I was Hailey’s age and always hated being grounded, but I thought Hailey got away pretty easily with what she did. I probably would have grounded her for at least three weeks, a month tops.
Anyway, back to discussing the end of the episode. Claire convinced Jay that he should let Gloria help him with his work. Jay had Gloria show Josh designs for new closets wearing a sexy dress and expensive jewelry, and Josh was “Wowed” by the designs. Jay revealed in a couch interview that they were the same designs that he had shown Josh earlier, which he said he hadn’t like. I thought that was hilarious. :)
Here are a few of my other favorite things about this episode
- Luke chuckling after he said the word asset when he was talking to the documentary crew about the money he had saved up and frozen in a block of ice. It was even funnier later when both Luke and Phil laughed when Claire says the word asset while she’s talking to Jay about how he should let Gloria help him with his work. Also, I love that they showed Luke getting the money out of the freezer.
- The scene where Phil accidentally gives Alex the nighttime allergy medicine and accidentally punches Luke in the face trying to open a Band-Aid for Luke’s arm. That whole scene is hilarious.
- Manny drinking his milk in a wine glass. That reminded me of how I used to drink apple juice and Kool-Aid in wine glasses.
- Phil’s various names for his fists and his kicks.
- The scene where Jay, Phil, Mitchell and Cameron are talking about getting their own fake I.D.s when they were younger and what they did with them.
- The name on Phil’s fake I.D.: Dr. Richard Hertz, and Phil saying that he used his fake I.D. to rent bowling shoes and kept them. That’s pretty lame, and yet that’s typical Phil.
- Cameron flipping out at the Dad in the movie theatre when he thought that he was taking his daughter to see the horror movie that they were planning to see and then awkwardly trying to apologize after he and Mitchell discover that they were in the wrong theatre. I thought the way that Cameron was talking to that little girl was absolutely hilarious.
- Phil’s couch interview where he’s telling the documentary crew that he’s attracted to powerful women, and then he realizes that he’s attracted to the women that he just listed off not because they are powerful, but because they are African American. I love the way that Ty Burrell played Phil’s realization that he has a thing for African American women. :)
- Lily getting upset when she overhears Mitchell and Cameron saying that they were at the Muppet movie and they “just” stayed for the first two numbers.
Here are some of my favorite lines from this episode:
- Phil encouraging Claire to run for town council.
Phil: …I thought you were talking about running for office. Go on.
Claire: I’d be lying if I said I’d never thought about it. I mean, I know it’s a ridiculous little local thing, but it might be fun to get out there and contribute. Plus I think I’d be good at it.
Phil: You’d be great.
Claire: Mm. How would this work? I mean, who would be here for the kids after school? Who would take them to practice and recitals and keep them from burning the house down?
Phil: It must be so hard being a single mom. Claire, I will. If you wanna fly, I’m not gonna hold your feet to the ground.
Claire: Hmm.
Phil: I wanna be the one to push you off the cliff.
Claire: I think I’m gonna do it.
Phil: Great. Go fly.
Phil shoves Claire.
Claire: Phil!
Phil: No.
Claire: Oh, Phil!
- Phil doing a couch interview where he’s talking about how he’s attracted to powerful women.
Phil: I’ll admit it. I’m turned on by powerful women…Michelle Obama, Oprah, Condoleezza Rice, Serena Williams…Wait a minute.
- Cameron and Mitchell talking about the guy that just hit their car
Cameron: Well, he seems nice.
Mitchell: Yeah.
Cameron: You know, if this were a romantic comedy, this would be our meet cute. We’d spend the rest of the afternoon drinking wine, eating food, flying a kite, you know, doing montage-y stuff.
Mitchell: Yeah, am I in this movie of yours?
Cameron: Yeah, you’re the gay best friend.
- Cameron and Mitchell talking to Jay about their fight over how they should have handled their hit and run, Luke once again expresses his dislike for the police.
Mitchell: All right, Okay, the reason we’re fighting is ‘cause this one thinks he’s Dirty Harry.
Jay: Having a hard time picturing Clint Eastwood in that shirt.
Cameron: Okay, let me ask you something. Today, at a stoplight, a guy ran into our car, and then just took off. I wanted to chase after him. Mitchell…
Mitchell: Kept a level head and called the police.
Luke: (Walking by) Pfft. Police. Aren’t they too busy winning the war on drugs?
- Mitchell doesn’t understand that Cameron is saying that he wants to sit in the front seat of the car when they go get Hailey’s money back.
Cameron: Shotgun!
Mitchell: No! No weapons!
- Mitchell still disapproves of Jay, Cameron and Phil’s decision to go get Hailey’s money back.
Jay: If all you’re gonna do is criticize, just wait by the car.
Mitchell: Okay, fine. I’ll see you in jail. It’s gonna be a big adjustment for two of you.
Jay: Ugh.
- Despite Mitchell’s disapproving of Jay, Cameron and Phil’s decision to go get Hailey’s money back, he’s the one who ends up catching the guy when he tries to run away.
Mitchell: I got him!
Cameron: Oh, my god. You did!
Mitchell: Don’t be so surprised. Help! He’s slipping out of his skinny jeans.
Moments later after Jay, Cameron and Phil have come over to help him hold the guy down.
Mitchell: These are cute. I totally have these.
- Mitchell bragging to Hailey that he caught the guy.
Mitchell: I got grass stains.
- Claire encourages Jay to let Gloria help him with his work.
Claire: Dad, you should listen to her. She might really help you.
Jay: Huh.
Claire: She could be an asset.
Phil: Hmm. (Chuckles) Asset.
Luke: (Chuckles) Heard it. (Chuckles)
All things considered, I thought that this was a really great episode for the most part. It had way too many funny moments and line for me to be able to count them all. Manny did annoy me at times in this episode, and I’m still disappointed the writers seem to have dropped the whole storyline with Claire’s little feud with Dwayne Bailey and her wanting to run for town council after this episode. However, I still loved Claire’s storyline in this episode. As usual, I absolutely loved Phil, and Luke was great in this episode too. I’m still really surprised by how funny I thought Mitchell was in this episode. I’ve always felt like Mitchell had his moments where he is funny, but Jesse Tyler Ferguson has always been in the same position that Julie Bowen is in with playing the straight man to Ty Burrell’s Phil. Jesse/Mitchell is typically supposed to play the straight man to Cameron’s larger than life personality, however I thought that Jesse Tyler Ferguson had a ton of funny lines in this episode. The whole cast was great in this episode though, not just Jesse.
That being said, I give this episode a rating of an A-.
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